


Pictures of You

by southsidestyle



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: 5+1 Things, A Little Bughead, Alternate Canon, Background Josie/Sweet Pea, F/M, First Time, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Mentions of Choni, Mostly Fluff, Oral Sex, Pining, Requited Love, Unsafe Sex, With No Consequences!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-11 22:41:12
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,597
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17455661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southsidestyle/pseuds/southsidestyle
Summary: “You any good behind the camera?” Toni asks, chancing a glance at her new friend.Jughead’s lips curl up into a self deprecating grin. “Better than I am in front of it.”“Doesn’t like having his picture taken,” Toni picks up with a light laugh, shooting him a mock two-finger-salute of understanding. “Noted.”(Or, 5 times Toni takes Jughead's picture and 1 time he takes hers.)





	Pictures of You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [bloodredcherries](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bloodredcherries/gifts).



> Set in the canon universe, but without the Black Hood and with lots of other plots from the second season ignored/mixed up. 
> 
> I really love writing 5+1 Things style fics and decided to center it around pictures/photography because I love that both Jughead and Toni were introduced with a love for photography, even if I'm also disappointed it was promptly dropped for them as well.

**1.**

Toni takes a picture of Jughead before she even speaks to him.

He’s new to South Side High, transferring from Riverdale High on the North Side, and she volunteers to give him a tour of the dump, but not before taking his _Before_ picture.

“Whoa,” he laughs after she blinds him with her flash in way of greeting, his hand up and blocking his eyes. “I didn’t realize you guys had paparazzi at South Side High.”

Toni laughs, letting her camera hang around her neck as she holds out her hand for the new kid. “You’re Forsythe Pendleton Jones III, right?” she asks with a smirk, guessing he probably hates the name.

Her hunch is confirmed when he grimaces and lowers his hand to shake hers. “Jughead,” he corrects her. “Please.”

“Gotta say, that’s not much better,” Toni teases him, holding his hand for a little bit longer than is necessary before she finally drops it and brings her own back to fiddle with her camera. “But I've heard worse. I’m Toni Topaz.”

Jughead smiles, his gaze warm as his eyes take in her face for a moment before they flicker down to what’s in her hands. “So, Toni Topaz, do you blind everybody with that thing, or just the new kids?”

“You’re just special,” she grins, shooting him a wink as she turns and starts walking, knowing he’ll follow after her. “It’s for the newspaper, actually—the Red & Black. I’m the photographer.”

“Cool,” Jughead replies with a nod, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he tries to keep pace with her while taking in his new surroundings at the same time. “I used to work on the paper at my old school,” he shares. “I mostly wrote articles, but I took some pictures too; basically just did whatever my girlfriend needed me to—she runs it.”

Toni nods, deflating a little at the mention of Jughead’s girlfriend, but not letting it get her down. Sure, he’s cute and already easy to talk to, but she barely knows the kid; it’s probably better to squash any possible crush before it even fully forms anyways.

“You any good behind the camera?” she asks eventually, chancing a glance at her new friend to find he didn't even notice her slight pause before her question.

Jughead’s lips curl up into a self deprecating grin. “Better than I am in front of it.”

“Doesn’t like having his picture taken,” Toni picks up with a light laugh, shooting him a look that isn't exactly apologetic as she gives him a mock two-finger salute of understanding. “Noted.”

 

___

 

**2.**

Toni decides within five minutes of meeting Betty that she doesn’t want to like her.

And then ten minutes after that, she realizes it’s impossible not to.

Betty is sweet and nice, and not even in that boring and bland sorta way, because she’s funny, too. Knowing Jughead’s girlfriend was from the North Side, Toni expected her to be prissy or judgey or _something_ , but as it turns out, she’s just… nice.

Part of Toni wants to hate her even more for that, but the rational part of Toni—and the one that rolls her eyes and thinks it’s bullshit when people say girls can never get along because they’re too catty, despite the fact that all of her best friends are guys _—_ wants to try to return that kindness.

So when Toni finds herself sitting across from the happy couple at Pop’s and Betty tries to start a conversation with her while Jughead is busy telling Sweet Pea all about some North Side girl that's caught his eye across the diner, Toni indulges her.

“You’re into photography?” Betty wonders politely, and then offers her a smile when Toni raises a questioning eyebrow. “Juggie mentioned it.”

Toni doesn’t know why that surprises her. “He did?”

“He talks about you a lot,” Betty tells her and Toni waits for it—for the jealousy or the passive aggression to start—but the blonde’s kind smile doesn’t falter. “And he showed me some of the pictures you’ve taken for the Red & Black, they’re _really_ good.”

It’s the first time anyone other than Jughead has complimented her work, and she’s not sure how she knows, but Toni can tell Betty really means it.

“Thanks,” she replies with a shrug, her cheeks a little warm as she struggles to take the compliment without brushing it off like her instincts tell her to.

She wants to say they’re nothing, that her photographs aren’t a big deal, because she’s not used to anyone telling her anything else, but they are; photography means so much to Toni, and for Betty to know that and to sincerely tell her she’s good at it? That means a lot to her, too.

So if Betty can be kind to her and make an effort to get to know her for Jughead, well, Toni can do that too.

“Jughead said you write for the paper at your school?” she eventually asks, leaning forward to take a sip of her milkshake and listen as Betty launches into a story about how her parents own the Register and how much she loved Nancy Drew growing up, and so of course she dreamed of becoming an investigative reporter.

Toni listens to it all—even more than that, she gives the blonde her full attention—and when Jughead breaks away from his side conversation with Sweet Pea to check on his girls and sees that they’re getting along, Toni returns her friend’s silent ' _thank you'_ with a wink.

The four of them leave Pop’s together an hour later, ready to go their separate ways for the rest of the evening, until Betty calls Toni’s name before she can get on her bike and asks her if she has her camera with her.

“Can you take our picture?” Betty questions with a hopeful smile when Toni confirms that she does.

Jughead starts to shake his head. “Come on, Betts,” he whines, and it seems his girlfriend knows how much he dislikes having his picture taken, too. “Toni, you don’t have to—”

“She doesn’t mind, do you, Toni?” Betty argues with a laugh, kissing Jughead’s cheek as she curls her arms around his waist from her spot on the back of his motorcycle.

Toni smile is only a little forced and shakes her head as she pulls her camera out of her bag. “Not at all,” she answers, and she finds she’s not lying entirely.

She holds her camera up to her eye and takes in the image of Betty and Jughead together; her chin resting on his shoulder and a bright smile on her face that Jughead can’t seem to resist mirroring.

Toni swallows and takes a picture of the happy couple, finding she still doesn’t hate Betty, not even then.

 

___

 

**3.**

Summer in Riverdale means fairs, camping in Fox Forest and swimming in Sweetwater River, but summer on the South Side of Riverdale means parties at the lakeside, long bike rides into Centerville and cookouts at Sunnyside Trailer Park.

“Did you know that was a thing?” Toni asks Fangs when he joins her by the keg, nodding towards where Sweet Pea and Josie McCoy sit cuddling in a chair by the fire, the singer curled up in his lap as he laughs at something she says.

Fangs follows her gaze as he fills his cup with cheap beer. “I knew Pea was seeing someone,” he answers with a shrug. “But he didn’t tell me it was the Mayor’s daughter.”

A few months ago, a Serpent dating a Northsider would have probably been a big deal, but now that they go to Riverdale High with them, it's pretty much become common; Sweet Pea is apparently with Josie, Fangs is into Kevin Keller and Toni has whatever she has going on with Cheryl Blossom. The only one in their little group that _isn't_ currently romantically involved with a Northsider is, ironically, the one that started the year dating one.

“You know how long it’s been going on?” she wonders, taking the refilled cup Fangs hands her.

Fangs shrugs again, abandoning the keg to lean against the picnic table beside Toni and watch the couple from across the camp.

“Couple months, I think,” Fangs shares after taking a sip. “He didn’t wanna say anything and rub it in Jug’s face, but now that he’s over blondie, I guess he figured there’s no point in hiding it anymore.”

Toni all but snorts at Fangs’ words, moving her gaze down to watch her beer swirl around her cup. “Since when is Jughead over Betty?”

It takes Toni a few beats to realize Fangs’ silence is for a reason, and when she looks up at her friend, his eyes are wide and his mouth is gaping like a fish.

“I-I don’t know,” he spits out, avoiding her eyes and shifting under her questioning stare. “He, he just—he said something a couple days ago…”

As much as Toni wants to know why Fangs is acting like such a freak, she’s more interested in what he’s saying. “He really said he's over Betty? Why didn’t I know this?”

She admits she's been a bit preoccupied with her new dalliance with Cheryl, but Toni was there with Fangs and Sweet Pea when her best friend was moping around for months after his break up, so it feels like she should’ve been kept in the loop for a big development like this.

“It was just between the guys,” Fangs spits out, looking away from Toni and towards where FP and Hog Eye are getting the grills set up to start dinner. “I’ll see you later, Tiny.”

Fangs is gone before she can ask him anything else, and she tries to keep the hope from bubbling up inside of her by distracting herself with her camera, because even if Jughead really _is_ over his ex-girlfriend, that doesn't mean he’s suddenly going to like Toni back now—it’s not like Betty was the reason Toni and Jughead weren’t dating.

It isn’t until later that night, when she’s in bed and flicking through all the pictures she took at the Serpents' cookout that she notices him.

Zooming in on the candid picture of Sweet Pea carefully picking an eyelash off of Josie’s cheek, Toni moves the focus to behind the couple, where Jughead’s leaning against a tree in the background, unknowingly looking into the camera with a soft smile on his face and hearts in his eyes.

 

___

 

**4.**

Toni has been swimming at the quarry enough times that she agrees easily when Jughead asks her not to bring her camera on their first date.

She usually takes pictures to capture the beauty of a single moment in time—to _remember_ it—but she’s pretty sure she couldn’t forget a single minute of this day if she tried.

Still, Jughead didn’t say anything about not bringing her phone.

“Come on, just one picture!” Toni laughs as Jughead tries to reach around her to grab the phone out of her hand. “Don’t you wanna be _Instagram Official_?”

Jughead’s protests die down as he can’t help but laugh at the high pitched voice Toni just used and he drops his forehead against the back of her shoulder in defeat.

“Fine, you can take _one_ picture,” he relents, lifting his head to press a gentle kiss against the warm skin he was just leaning against. “But you have to be in it with me.”

“ _Obvi_ ,” Toni drawls in the same tone, leaning back against her date’s chest and getting her phone ready as she tries to contain her smile. “The first couple selfie is, like, _supes_ important.”

“Okay, _Cheryl_ ,” Jughead laughs, tightening his hold around Toni’s waist and not questioning the label she just casually gave them. Toni rolls her eyes fondly at the mention of the dramatic, but secretly sweet, girl that hasn't spoken to her since she ended things between them to finally be with the boy she loves. “Just take the picture before I change my mind.”

Toni knows he’s just joking, just like she’s sure he knows her jokes are just an attempt to mask her uncharacteristic giddiness, but when she holds her phone up and snaps the picture, both their smiles are achingly sincere.

“We look good together, Jones,” Toni sighs as she stares down at her screen, her inflection back to normal.

Jughead tucks his chin into her shoulder as he looks down at it too, humming his agreement. “You wanna take a couple more?” he asks softly around a knowingly smile. “The sun’s in my eyes in that one and I know what a perfectionist you are about your art.”

Toni tries to play it cool and just cranes her neck enough to give Jughead’s lips a sweet kiss before she turns back around and start snapping more pictures.

She uploads her favorite one of the bunch to Instagram when they’re done; the one of Jughead pressing a kiss to her cheek so hard that his nose is squished from the impact, and Toni’s beaming so widely it looks like her face might split in two.

 **thetinytopaz:** you know it’s real when the first date feels like the fiftieth <3 _@jugheadjones_

 

___

 

**5.**

As much as Toni loves her camera—the one her father gave her a few months before he died—she knows it’s a little outdated.

It does what she needs it to do for the most part, but if she ever wants to do more with it—with photography—she needs to upgrade to something newer eventually.

But of course, newer means more expensive, and Toni doesn’t have that kind of money to spend, not on a _hobby_ , as her uncle calls it. Which is why when she opens her birthday present from Jughead and finds a fancy new camera, she knows what this must have cost him.

“ _Jug_ ,” Toni breathes out in shock, her eyes snapping up to his as she holds the box in her hands. “I can’t believe you… How did you…” She has too many questions for her to pick just one, so she settles on a firm statement instead. “I can’t take this.”

“I can’t return it, so you have to,” Jughead answers with a sweet smile, moving from the coffee table to sit beside her on the couch. “Your photographs are _amazing_ , Toni. You could really do something with them one day, and this might help you do that. _Please_ , take it.”

Toni feels her heart pounding in her chest and tears stinging her eyes, and all she can do is nod as she pulls Jughead into a kiss; trying to convey everything she feels into it.

When she pulls away from him, Toni’s eyes are still watery, but only a couple tears fall as she lets him help her get the box open and her new camera set up.

Once it’s ready to use, she lets it hang around her neck where it’s going to sit from now on, and her boyfriend doesn’t even protest when she holds it up and finally snaps his _After_ picture; making sure Jughead, and this moment, are the first beautiful things she captures with it.

“You ever think about becoming a model?” Toni teases him as she looks at the picture she’s just taken on the ridiculously high definition screen. “I mean, a world famous photographer and her supermodel boyfriend? Talk about a power couple—we’d blow your dad and Alice right outta the water.”

“I’ll leave the picture stuff up to you,” Jughead replies with an easy smile, brushing some pink hair back behind Toni’s ear. “Would you settle for a world famous photographer and a novelist with a cult following at best?”

Toni returns his smile as she brings their mouths together again, humming against Jughead’s lips. “As long as it’s still you and me, I’m good.”

Jughead has no argument with that, and he deepens the kiss instead of voicing his agreement, curling his arm around Toni’s middle and carefully pulling her tiny body over so that she’s straddling his lap without breaking their kiss; her birthday present pressed between them.

Toni follows Jughead’s lead, knees on either side of his thighs as she grinds down into him, hands cupping his neck as her tongue slips into his mouth. She moans as his hands find their way up the back of her shirt, and the way his fingertips trace the line of her spine makes her shiver.

They’ve gone further than this before—though not all the way—but something about this time feels different; like they both know it is.

“Are you sure?” Toni asks breathlessly when she pulls back, asking because she knows she’s wanted this for longer.

Instead of answering, Jughead surges forward to connect their lips again, moving the hands that are still under her shirt down to her ass so he can carry her to his bedroom easier when he stands up.

His trailer is small, so the trip isn’t long, and Toni lets out a delighted laugh when Jughead drops her onto his bed; waiting just long enough to pull his shirt and pants off before he’s crawling on top of her.

Toni’s clothes and her camera come off soon after that, as Jughead kisses down her body and settles between her legs; pressing his lips to the wet, smooth skin of her inner thighs, teasing her so that she’s dripping by the time his mouth is where she needs it the most and he’s licking into her.

They’ve done this part before, and he builds her up and pushes her over the edge with no problem; Jughead's mouth and tongue working in perfect harmony over Toni's clit until she's crying out his name as she comes around the fingers curled deep inside her cunt.

Jughead keeps licking Toni softly as she comes down, until she’s whining and tugging at his messy hair, and then he kisses back up her body, between her breasts and kisses her mouth nice and slowly, letting Toni taste herself on his lips.

She rolls him over when she’s ready, kissing his neck while she grinds down on him through his boxers; his cock already hard just from giving her pleasure.

Still, Toni can’t resist shimmying down Jughead’s body, licking a path down smooth skin until she gets to dark curly hair and a hemline she quickly gets rid of so she can take his leaking cock into her mouth.

She watches Jughead with hooded eyes as she works him over, one of her hands a pumping fist over the part of his shaft that her lips can’t reach, while the other cups his balls and squeezes just right.

They’ve done this before too, so Toni knows she needs to stop before Jughead tells her to, and she releases him with a pop and then settles on top of him, giving him another chance to change his mind before she sinks down onto him when he nods his head.

Jughead’s cock is big, and it feels even bigger inside of her, but Toni takes him with ease—her walls stretching around him until her ass meets his thighs.

She collapses onto Jughead’s chest then, letting him wrap his arms around her and roll them over so that he’s on top now; strands of black hair dangling down as he hovers above her, hearts in his eyes again.

“I love you,” he tells her, not for the first time, nudging their noses together.

Toni says it back and seals it with a kiss, pulling Jughead’s face down to meet hers as he starts to pump his hips into her.

They move together and writhe together, Toni’s arms clinging to Jughead’s shoulders and her nails digging into his pale skin as he buries his face in the curve of her neck and keeps his strokes long and hard.

Toni rolls her own hips up to meet Jughead’s, pulling him closer—deeper—chasing her orgasm until she has it within her grasp.

“I’m close,” she pants over Jughead’s shoulder, and the way she feels him nod tells her that he is, too.

Neither of them have to say it, but they come together; Toni clenching and tightening around Jughead’s cock as it throbs, spilling ribbons of cum into her, thick and warm, binding them together.

 

___

 

**+1.**

The next morning, Toni’s wakes up in Jughead’s bed to a flash so bright that there’s still stars in her eyes when she pries them open.

“What the hell, Jug?” she mumbles when she’s greeted by the sight of her boyfriend holding her brand new camera in front of his face; the device not big enough to block his wide grin.

“Just a little payback,” Jughead teases, snapping a few more pictures of Toni’s sleepy but beautiful face, until her flailing hand manages to grab the camera and pull it out of his grasp. “You looked so cute sleeping, I had to preserve the moment.”

“Not cool,” Toni grumbles, not at all impressed by his attempt at sweet talk. She blindly reaches behind herself to put the camera on Jughead’s nightstand before she rolls over and cuddles into his arms, laying her head on his bare chest. “I was having a nice dream.”

Jughead chuckles and wraps her in a hug, pressing a kiss on top of pink hair. “I’m sorry, babe.”

“S’okay,” Toni sighs through a yawn, and she falls back asleep in Jughead’s arms with no trouble at all.

**Author's Note:**

> Would very much appreciate it if you hit that kudos button or left a comment if you liked it. Thanks for reading and I hope nobody minded a bit more plot and fluff than usual.


End file.
